The Importance of Infusing Fun into Leadership Training for Four Compelling Reasons
While the expression “Time flies when you’re having fun” is true, nothing brings time to a grinding halt faster than a monotonous virtual training experience. Anyone who has watched the minutes tick by during a three-hour workshop would likely agree that in those situations, time rarely flies. While engaging learners is a priority for development professionals, there is a reluctance to incorporate playfulness into leadership development.
Why is that? Will it detract from a serious message? Are we afraid of insulting our learners? Are there concerns about how to pull it off? Regardless, not infusing some fun into leadership training and development is a missed opportunity.
What Does Fun Bring To Leadership Training?
Humor can create a sense of camaraderie. Let’s face it – the stakes can be high when learners are asked to share their leadership challenges or stumbles or when they are asked to practice a new skill. Humor can help establish a tone of friendship and support. It can lower defenses for learners who are reticent about making themselves vulnerable enough to participate.
Humor can make the content relatable. From an “epic fail” leadership communication to a story about a bungled feedback conversation, humor releases the tension of a heavy lesson and reminds us that “we’ve all been there.” The relatability of a humorous anecdote can provide an emotional connection to an important point.
Humor can add variety to a leadership development program and be an essential engagement tool. An article published in the Journal of Neuroscience not that long ago shows that laughing with others releases endorphins in our brains, which make us feel good1. As employees struggle with burnout and mental health issues, injecting humor into the day can be the boost learners need.
Humor can be a safe way to bring up sometimes sensitive topics. Shakespeare once said, “There is truth in jest,” and he was onto something. Humor in leadership development can provide a doorway into challenging topics. We see reflections of our real-world experiences reflected in the fun. Acknowledging these challenges through the lens of humor makes them easier to discuss.
But how to do it? While various research corroborates the belief that humor is universal, that’s different from saying everyone has the same sense of humor. And that’s where things can get tricky. What’s funny to one person has the potential to be offensive to the other. That’s not a reason to abandon the idea but to proceed thoughtfully.
Fun leadership training ideas
Quirky images – Want to extol the benefits of active listening? Include an image of a child plugging their ears and screaming. Need to talk about work-life balance? Choose a relatable image of someone working on their computer while their cat walks across their desk. Paying attention to image selection and finding something a little offbeat is time well spent when creating something with visual interest and appeal.
Carefully sourced videos – Publicly available videos on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram can be a treasure trove of humorous video-based content. Use these videos selectively and always connect them to the content. Video usage shouldn’t be gratuitous. However, they can entertain and provide a “launching point” for a lively discussion.
Informal ice breakers – Nothing makes eyes glaze over at the start than the agenda slide. So don’t start that way. A low-risk icebreaker can get folks to open up about the simplest things. Favorite Holiday movie? Would you prefer a salty or sweet snack? Or, for those who want to jump more directly to the topic, Who is someone you’ve admired – tell me their story and why you admire them. What’s one word or phrase that describes your career? It’s not a waste-of-a-slide; it’s connection – a connection that, established upfront, will pay dividends in curious learners.
Healthy competition is another way to inject energy and fun into training. Trying to get learners to identify the top ways to communicate in a hybrid environment. Why not make it a contest to see who can list the most? Spoiler alert – in the process, participants learn, share, and cover a lot of ground in a few moments of fun.
A humble and self-deprecating facilitator – If videos and quirky images won’t work in your culture, a leadership development program can be facilitated by a living, breathing, fallible human being. Your facilitator doesn’t need to perform a stand-up routine. Still, facilitators or guest speakers who can share stories about their leadership successes and, more importantly, their failures can lighten the mood. A speaker willing to poke a little fun at themselves is a welcome reprieve from the “sage on the stage” monotony.
Leaders have a lot going on, so dedicating precious time to learning and development is only sometimes met with enthusiasm. When they carve out the time, why not give them a useful and memorable experience? Important information, skills practice, sharing, and couched in a little bit of humor can go a long way in engaging your learners and making the experience and the content stick.
